New Measures In Place To Keep Plano School Campuses Safe

PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The new school year began Monday with extra security in place across Plano ISD, including uniformed patrols near the elementary schools and more school resource officers in higher grades.

“We will now have SROs at every middle school, the academy high school and all our other high schools,” says Joseph Parks, Plano ISD Executive Director of Safety & Security. “And we’ve moved to twoSROs at each senior high school. So that’s a significant increase in the number of officers that we will have on or about our campuses, so we’re excited about that.”​

High school students are now required to wear ID badges on school buses and while on campus. Exterior doors have also been equipped with automatic lockdown devices.

Several parents told CBS 11 they feel the district is doing a good job being prepared, without prompting panic.​

“I think so,” says John Goodson, out for a walk near Huffman Elementary. “Even just around the neighborhood here in the local area, I’ve seen increased patrols, private security cars, driving up and down the street, looking for red flags or anything like that​

As a parent, Goodson says the district appears to be striking a good balance.​

“I think there’s a lot you can do without frightening the kids: increasing the doorway jams, locked security, controlled entry to the buildings.”​

The district is doing that and more. They’re directing families to the Plano ISD app which allows students to report concerns anonymously.​

“We know our students see and hear things that adults aren’t aware of,” says Parks. “We need students and parents help in telling us about things they see that are concerning or suspicious activity, because we can’t look into it, if we don’t know about it.” ​